Those words were nothing short of a direct provocation to the Dark Lord, and they had barely left his lips.
Everyone noticed the Dark Lord's deathly pale face, twisted with intense rage.
But then Harry Potter's roar rang out across the battlefield, and Voldemort, who seemed to have thought of something amusing, miraculously did not fly into a rage. He didn't even turn the Dark Lord's wrath on Snape to make it clear to everyone that not just anyone could dare provoke the great Dark Lord.
Voldemort's gaze slithered like a serpent toward Harry Potter standing behind him.
"Come to think of it, why is it that neither of the two wands I've used has worked against Harry Potter?"
"....."
"Can anyone answer that question?"
Voldemort descended slowly from the air and touched down on the ground, making his way toward the center of the battlefield while idly twirling the Elder Wand between his pale fingers. With every twirl, the wizards on Lucius's side held their breath, dreading that a Killing Curse might suddenly come flying their way. It left everyone momentarily unable to think clearly about what Voldemort was really getting at.
Only Draco, also drawing closer to the battlefield, vaguely sensed that something was off.
Just as a searing pain began to flare in Harry Potter's head, that familiar sensation of becoming Voldemort creeping over him, a hoarse voice thick with malice reached his ears.
"My yew wand obeys my every command, yet Severus, I simply could not kill Harry Potter. I failed twice."
"Ollivander told me about the twin cores under torture and told me to use another's wand. I did exactly that. Yet every other wand shattered the moment it clashed with Potter's."
"I don't understand what you're getting at."
Snape wasn't looking at Voldemort. His black eyes were fixed on the space between them, as though calculating exactly when the right moment to strike would be. Even so, the slight wavering in those eyes did not escape Voldemort's notice.
The smile on Voldemort's face was nauseating and crooked. "All through this long, dark night, standing on the very brink of victory, I have been standing here, wondering and wondering why the Elder Wand refuses to fulfill its destiny, why it won't work its miracles for its rightful master as the legends promise. Now, it seems I have my answer."
"....."
The distance between them kept shrinking.
Snape still said nothing.
"Perhaps you already know? You are, after all, a clever man, Severus. You have always been a loyal and faithful servant, and I regret what must come to pass."
"....."
"The Elder Wand cannot serve me properly, Severus, because I am not its true master. The Elder Wand belongs to the wizard who killed its previous master. It was you who killed Albus Dumbledore. As long as you live, Severus, the Elder Wand can never truly belong to the Dark Lord."
"Then..."
Something dawning on him, Snape raised his wand.
It was all the signal that was needed. The two sides, who had held back their fighting while the exchange played out, took up their weapons once more.
"There is no other way. I must conquer this wand, Severus. To conquer this wand is to ultimately conquer Potter!"
The words had barely left his mouth before the battle erupted again.
This was the battle that would decide the fate of the British wizarding world.
Live by the wand.
Die by the wand.